Olympics 2024 - discussion thread

getready

Senior Member
It will be a big call to leave out Pan. He is in form and literally the fastest freestyle swimmer in the history of the sport. But as said earlier, breaststroke is the biggest time difference between men and women. So if Qin was in form, he has to be there. Then it is Xu who has to be replaced even though he is the silver medalist in the 100m backstroke. I think the correct team composition is more important than having the best individuals.
Xu is close to impossible to replace though. Not only is he the only world class backstroke swimmer China has, but Chinese female backstoker are not good enough. None of them reach the final in Paris and their best times are almost 2 seconds off the times posted by the US and Aus counterparts who are chinas main rivals in the mixed medley.

Maybe a bronze medal but I think gold medal would be tough to get if Xu doesn’t swim, considering the deficiency in the female backstrokers. Plus having a male swimmer as leadoff leg helps to create clean water for the rest of the team.

I guess it will come down to whether the gap in backstroke or the freestyle leg is bigger.
 
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